Prosecutors say Vasquez died of blunt force trauma to the head suffered inside the Saginaw home Allen was sharing with the boy's mother Amanda Cheslik, who was not at the home at the time.

In the hours and days following Ramon's death, Allen gave conflicting statements to police and detectives, and Sturtz argued Allen was not advised of his Miranda rights against self-incrimination or to have an attorney.

As he did in his written response to Sturtz's motion, Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Albosta on Monday said Allen was not in custody for four of the statements and had his Miranda rights read for four other statements made at the Saginaw Police Department.

Albosta said Allen signed a piece of paper acknowledging and waiving his rights and that a copy of that document was provided to Sturtz. The prosecutor also said that on the day of the last statement, Saginaw Police Detective Matthew Gerow “Mirandized” Allen in the car on the way from the Saginaw County Jail to the police station and that an audio recording of that exchange also was given to Sturtz.

Allen on Monday said police never advised him of his rights.

Jackson on Monday said he was allowing the two statements Allen made inside and outside his home, 2117 Green on the city's southwest side, and one he made while in the waiting room at Covenant HealthCare. The judge said he would conduct a “Walker hearing” regarding five statements Allen made at the police department to determine if Allen's statements were voluntary and provided after he was made aware of his rights.

A police report from Saginaw Police Detective Matthew Gerow states Allen provided police or authorities with seven versions of the events that led to Ramon's death. The report states Allen:

first said Ramon choked on pizza

then said he found the boy unresponsive in bed

then said, after confronted by Covenant Emergency Room Physician Tracy Potis about a hematoma discovered on the boy's brain, that the boy “strikes his own head on the wall”

then said Ramon had a seizure

then said, after failing a polygraph, that he was dancing with Ramon and shook his head too hard

then said, on the phone with Cheslik, that he accidentally struck Ramon's head on the door frame

and then said, with Cheslik in the police department interview room, that Ramon fell off her bed and struck his head.

In addition to the statements, Sturtz also asked Jackson to suppress photographs taken at an autopsy of Ramon's body conducted by Saginaw County Medical Examiner Kanu Virani. Albosta marked 13 for admittance during the preliminary hearing but ultimately used six of them.

Sturtz argued the pictures were “ghastly” and that Virani can testify to Ramon's injuries without the use of the photos. Albosta argued the photos are key in showing the “closed head wound” Ramon suffered.

Jackson said he had not seen the pictures and that, without seeing them, agreed with Sturtz that Virani could testify without the pictures. After the hearing, Albosta showed Jackson the pictures, and the judge decided to allow three of them.

Jackson on Monday also ruled on Albosta's motion asking the judge to allow him to present prior acts of domestic violence. Allen, Albosta writes, “has a history of assaulting children and other people within his household.”

Jackson said he would allow testimony about a 2011 incident in which Allen was accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend and her minor daughter. The judge said he would not allow testimony about a 2007 incident in which Allen's 9-month-old daughter, Albosta wrote, “had her leg broken under similar circumstances” to Ramon's death.

Jackson said that while the 2007 incident is “similar in nature,” it is “far more prejudicial than probative.” The judge also noted that both police and workers from Children's Protective Services did not pursue the incident further.

Allen also did not face charges in connection with the 2011 incident.

Jackson said he would conduct the “Walker hearing” regarding the statements on the same day as Allen's trial, currently scheduled for June 3.

The felony murder charge he faces carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole. It means somebody was killed during the commission of a specified felony, and prosecutors list that felony as the child abuse charge that Allen also faces. The child abuse charge carries a maximum penalty of life with parole.

Allen remains jailed without bond.

— Andy Hoag covers courts for MLive/The Saginaw News. Email him at ahoag@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter @awhoag